


One in a million (and love is hard to find)

by ohfaiths



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Smut, One Night Stands, Past Child Abuse, Sexual Content, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:59:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohfaiths/pseuds/ohfaiths
Summary: Jemma, Jemma, Jemma. His days get longer, nights get colder and heart beats louder. He lives on the memory of a woman he may never see again.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	One in a million (and love is hard to find)

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by: feel me & souvenir by selena gomez.  
> beta: rathxritter.

_You're giving me chills at a hundred degrees _

_It's better than pills how you put me to sleep _

_Calling your name, the only language I can speak _

_ Taking my breath,  _

_ A souvenir that you can keep. _

There is **Leopold James Fitz**.

He has a big heart and an even bigger wallet. A young man, but an already successful businessman who proved everyone that he deserves the world. The world is harsh and cruel, but once you set the goal to yourself about making your life better - no one and nothing can stop you.

On the outside, he sure acts like a stone-hearted jerk who would never say a compliment, and if his looks could kill, the world would already be dead. He built a perfect facade, making everyone think that it's not that easy to trick him. For the past twelve years, he's been through hell and made it  out  alive and wealthy, stronger than ever before.

There are years and years of abuse behind Leopold James Fitz's back. His father is an infamous politician who doesn't believe in equality and feminism. Alistair Fitz thinks that his son has betrayed him and would never forgive him for that. Little does he know that Leopold doesn't give a fuck anymore about what his father says. He once promised himself and his mother that he'd do anything to end Alistair's tyranny and he kept his word. 

There are several bank accounts on Leopold James's name, each and everyone is for a specific cause. There are a couple of charities he supports; he's one of the co-founders of the ones that protect children from abuse. He sends his mother a generous sum of money each week and calls her on the weekend to hear her voice and talk to her about everything at once. He loves hearing her talk about how wonderful life in Dingwall is and that she expects him to come this summer. Leopold hopes he'll be able to visit his ma. 

But for now, he has a company to run and money to earn.

There is **Jemma Anne Simmons**.

She's an actress - and a fantastic one. You can see her mostly in period dramas, but she's getting tired of wearing corsets and silly hats. She's tired of directors saying she is not "tall enough", or "smiley enough". Jemma Anne Simmons hates double standards and her career might be at risk because lately she's been fighting with the patriarchy in the film industry.

On particularly bad days, she thinks to get back to the theatre but she's not sure if this is a good choice. She loves being on set and all the red carpet events, but she's done being a strong woman and realised that she deserved more.

She wants people to listen to her and not shut down her ideas just because she's a woman.

Jemma Anne Simmons has a supportive family and when she shares her plans, her mother - who raised her daughter properly British - approves  of  her daughter's choice. Amelia Reign Simmons wants the best for her only child, she would do anything for her daughter to be comfortable. The film industry is harsh, but Jemma Anne is a fighter. 

On a cold September morning, Jemma decides that it's time for the change and tells her agent she's moving back to England and will no longer tolerate abuse from the directors of the series she starred in. She disappears without making a post or sharing a story on her Instagram and logs out of her social media. She becomes a ghost, on her way to create a new persona and start her life anew.

Leopold James Fitz and Jemma Anne Simmons meet at the fundraiser event. It's posh and rich and classy - men wearing tuxedos and ladies looking as if they are the goddesses - their eyes meet and sparks fly. He makes the first move, thinking how this lady's face is familiar but he can't remember where he saw her. It's only when he decides to get closer to her, he remembers that she's one of the leading actresses in a play he went to see a week ago. He had a long-awaited day-off and decided to spend his time wisely. Fitz likes to think that they met again for a reason.

Jemma always had a good memory, and when he comes closer, she smiles knowingly. She's seen him before, in the first row during her play and the pretty bouquet of flowers he left on stage after the final act.

"You were fantastic," he tells her genuinely, noticing how her eyes light up at his words. He thought it would be harder to impress her. "I have never seen someone playing a fictional character with so much passion."

Jemma laughs; a wonderful sound that makes Leopold smile. She's both adorable and gorgeous at once and Fitz's heart skips a beat when their eyes meet.

"Thank you," she puts a hand on his shoulder and he shivers. "It took me nearly ten years to realise I belong to the theatre. Here's a toast. Let us find what we love and be brave and quick enough to catch it."

This is their third flute of champagne this evening and they are getting more relaxed. Leopold asks Jemma for a slow dance, they invade person spaces, Leopold's hands on Jemma's bare back, and her hands on his shoulders, clutching for him for dear life. They share a smile and don't say anything except staring each other in the eyes and swaying back and forth to the slow rhythm of the classical piece.

Jemma can feel his heart beating loud in his chest, though she's not better. She wants to lean in, erase the space that's left between them and capture his lips, but there are still too many people and they know their place. They try to keep their hands to themselves, but once the party is over, they find themselves in his car, drunk enough to forget their proper manners and remove some pieces of clothes like his tie and her shoes.

They don't make it to his bedroom. He carries her into his spacious dark living room, carefully laying her on the sofa and leaning in to kiss her. Fitz lets Jemma remove his shirt, throwing it away whilst he's working on her dress. It's a gorgeous pastel beige gown that needs to be removed and Fitz hopes Jemma can forgive him when he carelessly throws away her outfit to the side. She's not wearing anything apart from her panties and Leopold finds himself unable to stop himself anymore; he leaves a trail of kisses from her collarbone to her belly, igniting the flame inside him that burns him alive.

For the first time in many years, Jemma feels alive. She didn't expect a stranger (or, a not so strange anymore) to be this careful and loving, and when Fitz asks for her consent, she's a goner. He's polite. She adores it. She nods her head and kisses him soundly on the lips, moaning into his mouth when he's inside her and starts moving.

Despite the warm temperature in the room, Jemma feels chills down her spine and her heart beats faster whenever their eyes meet. She could drown in his, the way he looks at her with his blue oceans, shining in the darkness of the room and giving her chills in the best way possible. He takes her breath away when Fitz leans in and captures her lips, hot and messy. They don't talk much, and the only language between them - screaming each other's name in pleasure, over and over again.

It's a wonderful night full of egyptian blue and hazel suns, of drawing kisses along her birthmarks and his moans, two strangers who found each other, lazy kisses and twined limbs, soft glances and gentle caresses.

When the morning comes, Jemma slips out of his bed and leaves a feather-like kiss on his cheek while Leopold is still asleep, writing down a little note,  _ Love, Jemma _ written in neat and beautiful handwriting. It's five am and they barely slept, busy with exploring each other's bodies and discovering erogenous zones. It was terrific fun, a new sensation that made Jemma feel wanted and alive. 

Their lives turn upside down after that.

Leopold James Fitz keeps the note Jemma Anne Simmons left him in his wallet. Somehow life hits hard and he can barely go out with his friends, grab a beer or go to the theatre. He realises that they didn't even exchange numbers and it terrifies him. He has no idea where to find the woman he spent an incredible night with; the woman he fell in love with in just one evening and night. 

He tells his best friend about her but they just shrug and tell Fitz to move on. In a city of hundreds, it will be hard to find the one who enchanted him. It certainly feels like dark magic - Leopold can't stop thinking about Jemma, wherever he goes. He sees her face in a crowd, thinking it's her; he smells her perfume even no one is around him; he stays up late just he doesn't dream because whenever he closes his eyes, there's Jemma.

_ Jemma, Jemma, Jemma. _

His days get longer, nights get colder and heart beats louder.

He lives on the memory of a woman he may never see again.

One night, Leopold James Fitz thinks that he should follow his friend's advice and move on.

There are other women - _Lucy, Nancy, Maria_ \- he takes them on a date, but whenever their lips touch, he thinks of Jemma. She invaded not just his personal space, but also a brain. It's torture.

Fitz gives up and promises himself he will find Jemma. His mom learns about this woman after Leopold's numerous phone calls. She says it's fascinating how one person can change his life so much. She says it's destiny and tells Leopold to fight for her.

They say that you should believe in what you're dreaming of, imagine it in great detail and only then those dreams and thoughts can turn into a reality. 

The memory of Jemma Anne Simmons is some kind of a souvenir Leo keeps, something to hold onto while balancing his work and his search. At some point, he wonders if she's looking for him, too. What is she doing, what is she thinking? How is her acting career, are there new projects? He shamelessly googles her name but there are no articles nor new plays and he's scared that she's gone.

She might as well be a ghost, a succubus that visited him and punished for whatever sins he committed. Fitz relives that night in his memories, trying to remember any other detail that could help him in his search. He almost asks the head of his tech department to hack the database but this is too much.

Eventually, he finds some time to go see a couple of plays, hoping to see Jemma there, but the ones she participated in are cancelled at the last minute and Fitz wants to tear the world apart. 

He goes home and opens a bottle of whiskey, hoping to get wasted and for once, shut his brain down and stop thinking about a woman. He promises himself not to go crazy and seals the deal with the sixth shot of the warming drink.

To his surprise, it gets a little bit easier three months later. He's doing great, working his ass off and planning a trip to visit his mother - a long-awaited vacation that Fitz needs. He focuses on his career, ignoring occasional mentions of his father who's been involved in far too many scandals lately. Leopold is not surprised, and he cuts out every journalist who wants to arrange an interview with Leopold James Fitz. He made it clear years ago that he does not wish to be associated with his ungrateful and abusive father, and an even worse politician. Leopold fights for everything Alistair votes against and it should say something to the people who say that the chip is equal to the wood.

There are some accusations against Alistair Fitz, and Leopold is not surprised. He smirks at the news on TV. He merely watches it for fun, to boost his ego and make sure he's nothing like his father. Good for him he was brave enough to say no to his dad and chose to live with his mom - even though it cost him a broken arm and months of healing and therapy with a shrink.

His peaceful Friday evening is interrupted by a knock on his door and Fitz moves to open it, expecting it to be his friend or delivery. But when he sees a familiar face he was looking for all these months, he forgets how to breathe.

He must be dreaming, or he had too much wine this evening because the reason for his sleepless nights and the foggy head is standing at his threshold and he's not sure how to proceed. She looks even more radiant, though there are dark circles underneath her eyes and her hair longer than he remembers. 

"Hi, Fitz. It's been a while."

"Yeah," is the only thing he can say, but then he beams and takes Jemma's hand, tugging her slowly to his flat. He's afraid that Jemma moves away but instead, she wraps her hands around his neck and he is the happiest man on Earth. "Where were you? I was looking for you everywhere," he cups her face when they pull apart, staring into the same hazel hues that he fell in love with.

"I had to leave on tour," Jemma smiles softly and looks down. "I'm sorry I disappeared. I didn't want you to think that you did everything wrong. Because...well, there's actually something I should tell you."

"Oh god I'm an idiot," Fitz helps Jemma to take off her coat, taking her hand and leading her to his kitchen. "Are you hungry? I can make you eggs, or whatever you want."

"Tea would be lovely, thank you."

Just like that, it feels like Jemma had never been gone. She tells him about her tour and the countries she visited, from Russia to Turkey, and how her theatre career has been thriving. He's genuinely happy for her because she's one of the most hard-working women he'd ever met and she deserves the world. He tells her about his work, too, though he skips the part about keeping a note from her in his wallet.

"We should have exchange numbers," Jemma laments with a deep sigh, holding a cup of peppermint tea Fitz made for them. 

"You told me there's something you should tell me. What is it?"

"I don't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning."

Ah, the night they met. Jemma smiles and shakes her head. There's so much she needs to tell him; how much she likes him and how stupid they were that night because they were so into each other that they forgot about the most important thing.

"Can you please set the cup on the table?"

"Jemma, you're scaring me. What's wrong? Did I do something?"

Simmons laughs because that's exactly what she wanted to talk about.

"We both did."

She grabs her bag and fishes out a small plastic object, placing it on a table and moving to Fitz. She hopes that he understands what is this, and she wouldn't need to explain to him how they got themselves into this. 

Leopold feels like the world has stopped and his brain short-circuited. He holds his breath, watching the tiny little thing Jemma showed him that was a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.

"Jemma... did we..."

"No," she sighs and wants the floor to swallow her. "If we did, I wouldn't be sharing this news with you."

"It's all my fault," Fitz takes the test in his hands and looks up at Jemma. 

"It takes two to make a baby, Fitz," her smile is kind and there's no hate in her eyes. She doesn't seem angry. She's just... calm. And happy. "I just didn't expect to become a mother at twenty-six."

"I'll help you," Fitz reaches for her hand and Jemma twines their fingers. "With everything. I know that we are not...a thing, but I would like to get to know you. Take you on a date. A proper date."

"I'd love that very much," Jemma beams and feels ten pounds lighter after telling Fitz about their situation. "And I promise not to disappear anymore," she laughs, a sound Leopold adores. "I went to you as soon as I came back. Thought you deserve to know after everything that's been between us."

"Come here."

Fitz stands up and opens his arms wide, welcoming Jemma in his embrace. He feels incredibly dumb and also ridiculously happy, and he sends a promise to the universe that he won't fuck them up.


End file.
